Joe Diffie Tests Positive for the Coronavirus

Country singer Joe Diffie has tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus. The artist revealed the news in a statement released on Friday afternoon (March 27).

"I am under the care of medical professionals and currently receiving treatment," Diffie says. "My family and I are asking for privacy at this time."

Diffie's statement also urges fans to do all they can to stop the spread of the virus: "We want to remind the public and all my fans to be vigilant, cautious and careful during this pandemic," the singer adds.

A Tulsa, Okla., native, Diffie first rose to country music fame in the 1990s. His debut single, 1990's "Home," earned the artist his first No. 1 song, which he followed with four more chart-topping tunes, including "Pickup Man" and "Third Rock From the Sun."

Diffie, unfortunately, is not the first country singer who has contracted the coronavirus: Laura Bell Bundy revealed earlier in the week that she is sick with the virus, too. Folk legend John Prine's wife Fiona, meanwhile, is isolating herself from her husband, as she has tested positive for the coronavirus and he is at a higher risk should he contract the disease.

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only touched individuals, it's wreaked havoc on the entertainment world in general, with a tremendous amount of artists and festival organizers choosing to cancel or postpone tours and events for 2020. To date, there are 83,836 recorded cases of the novel coronavirus in the United States; 1,209 people have died of the disease in the U.S. alone.

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